Drivers warned about Epping vehicle shootings

BY JASON SCHREIBERUnion Leader Correspondent

EPPING — Police are warning motorists to be on the lookout after someone fired on five vehicles at random, shattering windows of four vehicles while drivers were on the road and a fifth while the vehicle was parked.

.Police Capt. Jason Newman said the incidents all occurred between July 13 and July 17 on the western side of town in the area of Beede Road near the Fremont town line and Depot Road at the Route 27 intersection...Police believe a high-powered airsoft pellet gun, which can fire pellets at speeds of up to 700 feet a second, is being used to target vehicles.

“It’s certainly a dangerous situation. It’s much more than somebody causing damage. They could hit somebody. People could be seriously hurt or have an accident from this,” Newman said...In most of the incidents, Newman said the motorists were driving down the road when their rear windshields were hit. One of the shootings involved a front windshield shattered while a vehicle parked on Beede Road...All of the shootings have occurred in the early evening hours and are believed to be connected, Newman said.

Police recovered airsoft pellets from the scene where the vehicle was hit while parked.

The motorists whose vehicles were hit pulled over to the side of the road after the shootings or stopped farther down the road. One driver went directly to an automotive shop to get the window fixed, Newman said...No one has been injured in the shootings.

Anyone with information on the incidents is urged to call the Epping Police Department at 679-5122.